Robin Cook - Mindbend

“Bill Shelly and Dr. Nachman.”

Percy whistled and took his eyes off the traffic long enough to give Adam an appraising glance. “You got to meet two of the original MTIC founders. Both are rumored to be on the board of directors of MTIC as well as having executive positions with Arolen. And how did you meet Nachman? He is the head of research down in Puerto Rico.”

“He was here for some meeting,” explained Adam curtly. Percy’s response made him wonder anew if Arolen was interested in him or, despite their assurances, his father.

“The other thing about Puerto Rico,” Percy was saying, “is that the center there is as luxurious as a resort. I’ve only been there once, but it is out of this world. I’m looking forward to training there. It’s going to seem like a paid vacation.”

Watching the rain beat on the windshield, Adam wondered what kind of maternity facilities they had in Puerto Rico. The idea of bright sun as well as the chance to get Jennifer away from her parents had certain appeal. He sighed. It was nice to daydream, but the fact of the matter was that he wanted to stay as near to the medical center as possible. Puerto Rico was out of the question.

“Here we are,” said Percy, guiding the car over to the curb in front of a typical midtown New York City apartment building. He parked in a “No Standing” tow zone, opened the glove compartment and took out a small sign that read: “Visiting Physician.” “This represents a slight distortion of the usual meaning of this phrase, but it’s nonetheless true,” he said, smiling at Adam. “Now let’s plan the attack. The idea here is for you to get some idea of what it’s like to call on a typical physician. This fellow’s name is Dr. Jerry Smith. He happens to be a very successful Park Avenue obstetrician. He’s also a horse’s ass. He thinks of himself as some intellectual giant, so it will be extremely easy to butter him up. He also likes free samples, a predilection which we will be happy to indulge. Any questions before we go to battle?”

Adam said no, but Dr. Markowitz’s comment about defecting to the enemy haunted him as he got out of the car. Percy opened the trunk and gave Adam a large umbrella to hold while he got out a bunch of drug samples.

“Smith’s favorites are tranquilizers,” said Percy. “Whatever he does with them all, I have no idea.” Percy loaded a small cardboard box with a variety of drugs, then closed the trunk.

Dr. Smith’s office was packed with women. The air was close and smelled of damp wool.

Adam hurried after Percy, who went straight to the receptionist. Reluctantly, Adam glanced around and saw many pairs of eyes regarding him over the tops of magazines.

“Hello, Carol,” Percy was saying. “What a stunning outfit. And your hair! There’s something different. Don’t tell me. Let me guess. You got a perm. God, it looks terrific. And how’s that little boy of yours? Good, huh. Well, let me introduce you to Adam Schonberg. He’s going to be taking over my customers. Now, would you mind if he looked at that dynamite photo you have of your boy? The one on the bear rug.”

Adam found himself holding a cube of plexiglass with different photos on each side. Percy adjusted it in his hand so that he was looking at a chubby baby lying on a bath towel.

“And Carol, what about your father?” asked Percy, taking the picture cube out of Adam’s hands and putting it back down on the desk. “Is he out of the hospital yet?”

Two minutes later Percy and Adam were standing in the doctor’s consultation room, waiting for Smith to appear. “That was an amazing performance,” whispered Adam.

“Piece of cake,” said Percy with a wave of his hand. “But I’ll tell you something. The receptionist or nurse is the person you have to impress in the doctor’s office. She controls access to the physician and if you don’t handle her properly, you’ll die of old age waiting to get in.”

“But you acted like you were good friends with that woman,” said Adam. “How did you know all those things about her personal life?”

“Arolen provides you with that kind of information,” said Percy simply. “Arolen keeps a complete record on every member of each physician’s staff as well as the doctor himself. You feed it into the computer. Then when you have questions, you can get the answers. Nothing mysterious about it. It’s just attention to detail.”

Adam glanced around Smith’s office. It was elegantly furnished, composed of dark lacquered cabinets and floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. Facing into the room was a large mahogany desk, piled high with journals. Adam glanced at the date on the top issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. It was more than a year old. A paper mailing binder was still around the magazine. It had never been opened.

The door opened. Dr. Smith stopped on the threshold and called down the hall. “Put the next patients into rooms six and seven.”

A voice answered, but it was too far away to hear.

“I know I’m behind schedule,” shouted Dr. Smith. “So what else is new? Tell them I’ve got an important conference.” He came into the office and kicked the door shut behind him. “Nurses, shit!” He was a big man with an impressive paunch. His heavy jowls made him look like an old bulldog.

“Dr. Smith, how are you?” beamed Percy. Smith allowed the rep to shake his hand and then quickly retreated behind his desk, where he brought out a pack of filter-tipped Camels. He lit one and blew the smoke out through his nostrils.

“I’d like you to meet Adam Schonberg,” continued Percy, gesturing toward Adam. “He’s started training for Arolen and I’m taking him around to meet a few of my more prestigious clients.”

The doctor smiled and said, “Well, what do you boys have for me this morning?”

“All sorts of samples,” said Percy, putting the cardboard box on the edge of the desk and opening it. Dr. Smith eagerly moved forward on his chair.

“I know how much you like Marlium, Arolen’s top-selling tranquilizer, so I brought you a good supply. You’ll notice that the packaging has been improved. Patients love these new bright yellow bottles. I also have a reprint for you. Studies just completed at the Julian Clinic here in New York indicate that Marlium has the fewest side effects of any tranquilizer on the market today. But I don’t have to tell you that. You’ve been telling us the same thing for as long as I can remember.”

“Damn right,” said Dr. Smith.

Percy lined up the other drug samples in neat rows on Dr. Smith’s desk, all the time maintaining a running commentary on the proven excellence of the various products. At every possible juncture he complimented Dr. Smith’s perspicacity in prescribing Arolen drugs for his patients.

“And last but not least,” said Percy, “I’ve brought you fifty starter samples of pregdolen. I know I don’t have to convince you of the virtues of this drug for morning sickness. You were one of the first to recognize its value. However, I do have a reprint of a recent article that I’d like you to read when you get a chance. It compares pregdolen with other similar drugs on the market and shows that pregdolen is cleared by the liver faster than anything put out by the competition.”

Percy put a glossy reprint on top of one of the piles on Dr. Smith’s desk.

“By the way, how is that boy of yours, David? Isn’t he a junior now up at Boston University? Adam, you should meet this kid. Looks like Tom Selleck, only better.”

“He’s doing very well, thanks,” beamed Dr. Smith. He took one last drag on his cigarette before crushing it in a beanbag ashtray. “The kid is premed, you know.”

“I know,” said Percy. “He’s not going to have any trouble getting into medical school.”